The Extra Hurdle Part 1
by Atlanta Jade
Summary: Voyager holds a ship olympics, but can Jadeway really prove herself and will Chakotay let her have her own way?


Disclaimer     These character's aren't mine, the Olympics however are. What? They're not? Well I guess I don't really own anything here, except my computer and this story.   
  

Rating    NC-17 for Leola Root (PG-13 really)   
  

Notes      I'm not sure whether or not any of these characters are great athletes or not, but I took liberties with them anyway. 

* * *

** The Extra Hurdle**

**_Captain's Log Supplemental_**   


After careful discussions with Mr Neelix about crew morale, Commander Chakotay and I have decided that it would be a good idea to hold a ship 'Olympics'. It has taken careful planning to construct an accurate representation of the new Starfleet Stadium, of which many crew members will be familiar with.   
  
The news was out and there was a general circulatory feeling of excitement flowing around Voyager. Lists had been set up, and various people had decided to sign up for events. The holodeck had been booked up for weeks by people undergoing training, in preparation for the 'big day'.   


Captain Janeway looked over the entry forms in amusement. Never had she seen this much enthusiasm from her crew. She scanned down the events lists to see just who had entered each event, smiling as she saw Chakotay's name at the top of the 'mixed 110m hurdles race.' Tuvok had insisted that it was only logical that the race be ran as two separate events, one for the men and another for the women, however after having separated all the other events, the Captain wasn't ready to let this one go.   
"Tuvok," she protested "Its not a race about strength or speed, it's about technique and agility. Men have no advantage on those two points."   
"Captain, " he replied as cool and collected as usual "I do not disagree with you in that respect, however, I feel I must point out that it is often the speed between the hurdles that wins the race."   
"Point made, Tuvok, but lets just see how it goes anyway. Dismissed"   
Tuvok raised an eyebrow and started walking out of the Ready Room. "Captain, just one more question."   
"Go on."   
"Women usually run the 100m hurdles, so why did you choose to make it 110?"   
Janeway smiled and replied, "I like the extra hurdle."   
Tuvok took his leave.   
  
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In the final two weeks of preparations, Kathryn placed Chakotay in charge of making sure that everything was done to perfection. His first and foremost priority was organising the duty roster for that day. They were now in a relatively calm segment of space and so only a minimal crew would be needed. B'Elanna had fixed cameras in the holodeck and viewscreens around the ship, so that those on duty could watch the proceedings. Neelix had forgone entry into the games so that he could present and commentate, bringing the ship a whole day of 'A briefing with Neelix'. After deciding upon this, he began to research the different events, so that he could provide as much insight into the techniques as possible. Tuvok, reluctant to enter himself, agreed to officiate. Entry was limited to one track, one field and one relay event. 

The 'Olympics' programme was constantly in operation on the holodeck and very soon, it became even more popular than Tom Paris' 'Sandrines'. With a week to go, the final entries had been confirmed and posted on the computer for all to see and people were getting in last minute training on the holodeck.   


Chakotay looked down at his PADD and smiled as he made his way to the holodeck. The Captain had been relieved of duty a few minutes earlier and had rushed off in that direction. As the doors opened to Holosuite 1, he saw the Captain talking to the Doctor, who had been supervising training sessions.   


"Captain, I must advise you to warm up properly before training. I have been observing you for the past few days and you seem to be lacking in that discipline....."   
"Doctor.." Janeway began as Chakotay stopped beside her. He looked her up and down, unfamiliar with seeing her dressed in tracksuit bottoms and a running top.   
"Injury is not conducive to good health, mental or physical." The Doctor interrupted. "And just remember that I cant keep fixing people, just so that they can get hurt again"   
Kathryn opened her mouth to say something, but the Doctor clearly hadn't finished. "So just be sensible in your training, Captain. I'm not against good exercise, its very healthy as long as it is performed in the proper fashion" He glanced round, distracted. " Ms Torres.......... I hope you plan to strap that arm before throwing that javelin......Excuse me Captain, Commander."   
Chakotay laughed as B'Elanna threw the javelin straight at the Doctor and heard him shout "I'm a doctor, not target practice!"   
"Well, he certainly told you" Chakotay smirked as they both watched the action in the stadium.   
"Chakotay," Kathryn said turning round to face him "have you come here to practice?"   
"Well, I thought I would do a bit," he replied "just to be on the safe side".   
"Oh, well good luck Commander" Kathryn said as she began a 400m jog around the track, adding "You'll need it" just so that he heard her.   
  
*************************************************************************************   
  
**_First Officer's Log Stardate ******.**_**

Today is the day of the ship Olympics which are due to commence at 0900 hours. The duty roster has been arrange so that those who are on duty, will not miss their events, if they are intending to participate. Even so, ship functions are now down to the bare minimum.   
  
Chakotay had been working the night shift and was providing cover until the games began. Captain Janeway had scurried off, early the previous evening to rest for the following day. He had watched as the remaining crew, finishing their shifts had one by one followed her example and so now as he made his way to the holodeck, just to see the opening of the games, he couldn't wait to get some sleep in too.   
  
Captain Janeway stood on a podium in the middle of the field, waiting for the crowd to settle before she started speaking. As she saw Chakotay reach the bottom of the track, she gave him a secret smile, appreciating that he was tired, but had come to support her.   
"Good morning everyone," she began "and welcome to the first ever 'Voyager Games'. I'd like to wish each and everyone of you 'Good Luck' and hope that you all enjoy yourselves. Special thanks go to Commander Chakotay and Lieutenant Tuvok, without whom this would probably never have been possible. I now declare these games open!" With that the crowd cheered and Neelix began his commentary.   
  
*************************************************************************************   


"Good morning everyone and welcome to 'A Briefing with Neelix'. We're coming live to you from the first 'Voyager Olympics'. You've just seen the opening ceremony and now coming up next are the heats in the women's 100 metres. There will be two heats, the first three past the line in each will qualify for the final, along with the two fastest losers. That is, the next two fastest times. They won't be losers, as no one here on Voyager is a loser!" Neelix looked around, biting his bottom lip, in contemplation and then pressed a button on his keypad. The screen went blue and then a series of names came up on the screen. "Here is the line up for Heat 1 of the women's 100 metres."   
  
Chakotay switched on the viewscreen in his quarters just in time to see the start of the race. Both Jenny and Megan Delaney would run in the first heat. They looked formidable and deadly serious as they eased into their blocks, ignoring the competition around them. They settled under starter's orders, rose in the set position, almost in unison and Tuvok set the race off.   
  
"And they're off, the Delaney twins have got off to a good start. They're matching each other stride for stride. Ensign Hartley is giving them a run for their money. Look at that lovely long leg action...... and Ensign Crawforth is coming back at them, eager to qualify, but Jenny Delaney takes it on the line, 11.38. Not bad, from what I know. Megan Delaney gets 11.41 and Ensign Crawforth, 11.51. We'll have to wait and see whether Ensign Hartley qualifies for the final, which takes place later at 1500 hours."   
  
Chakotay reached over and switched off the viewscreen. He needed to get a couple of hours sleep before his race, scheduled for 1700 hours.   
  
*************************************************************************************   


Kathryn Janeway sat in the official's box in the stadium and watched as the women's qualifying round for the javelin got underway. She wasn't at all surprised that B'Elanna had entered this event. Her Chief Engineer was quite well known for her aggressive tendencies and Klingon strength. It was something that she excelled in. Tom Paris was playing the supporting role as usual, despite needing to warm up for his event, the men's 400m, after which he would partake in the men's high jump. Tuvok hovered by Kathryn's side in the official's box, monitoring each performance carefully and transmitting decisions through the computer. It seemed that he had reached a new stage of heightened awareness and was taking this position very seriously. Kathryn felt as though she was in the way and so she decided to move down to the track, where she could better observe what was going on and hopefully talk to some of her crew. She made her way into the warm-up area and spotted Neelix talking to Seven.   


"So, Seven. I see you have decided to enter this year's Olympics." Neelix began   
"That is correct" Seven replied in her usual manner.   
"And can we ask, just what events you are planning to undertake?"   
"Certainly. I shall be participating in the two hundred metres event, the long jump and the women's 100m relay."   
"Ah, excellent. And just how did you come to the decision to enter these Olympics?" Neelix asked, amazed that she had.   
"I consulted the Doctor and he thought that it would be good for my social skills and my physical health."   
"Thank you, Seven for this interview and may I wish you the best of luck."   
Seven looked at him in confusion and said, "Luck is irrelevant. I will be operating at peak efficiency."   
  
  
Neelix then spotted the Captain, looking on in interest. "Captain," he shouted eagerly "would it be possible to interview you?"   
Kathryn smiled, "Of course, Neelix." and walked over to his side.   
Neelix turned to the camera and began presenting once more, "Well, this is a rare and special occasion. We now have Captain Janeway standing by for an interview..... Captain, welcome to the show."   
"Thank you, Neelix."   
"I understand that you have entered yourself in the 110m mixed hurdles, the long jump and the 4 by 100m relay." The Captain nodded to confirm. "Now a point of interest has to be the fact that the hurdles event is a mixed one. There are six men and two women entered.... Do you believe that you will be at a disadvantage?"   
Kathryn smiled at the suggestion, "Not at all," she answered.   
Neelix was obviously awaiting much more of an answer. "I understand that this is the race where you jump obstacles purposely left in your way...... These obstacles are indeed quite high, which would lead me to believe that you and Lieutenant Torres will be at a disadvantage.. not to mention the fact that the men will have more power...."   
"Neelix, I assure you, Ms Torres and I have nothing to worry about..." she looked around with a mischievous grin on her face, "If anything, its the men that should be worried."   
Neelix laughed, "I'm quite sure people like Commander Chakotay will have something to say about that.... That's quite a rivalry you've got going there, Captain. I'll look forward to seeing the race... Perhaps you could talk us through the technique."   
"Well, you see, the trick to getting over the hurdles is flat speed. It's not a case of jumping over them, but actually hurdling over them getting three strides in-between. Its important to keep as low as possible over the hurdle and to snap the trail leg over......"   
"Oooh, sounds painful. I'm quite glad that I'm only commentating. Thank you Captain, for that wonderful insight. Hopefully, we'll speak again after the race."   
Kathryn nodded in agreement and walked off. She had just heard the announcement that the men's 400 metres was about to start, so she made her way trackside, finding B'Elanna waiting in eager anticipation to see Tom run.   


Tom and Harry stood side by side as they waited for starter's or rather Tuvok's orders. Tom looked over confident as usual, standing in lane 5, but on the inside of him, Harry strutted about up and down the track, attempting to keep his muscles loose.   
"Tom and Harry have a week's worth of replicator rations riding on this race," B'Elanna began, "I just hope Tom wins, otherwise he'll be using up all of mine - You know how much he hates Neelix's cooking."   
"More than life itself," Kathryn replied, "But I would like to see the young Ensign put him in his place."   
B'Elanna shook her head "You're not the one who'll get all the earache."   
At that moment, Tuvok summoned them up to the start. Harry and Tom gave a final glance to each other and then Tom looked to B'Elanna. They settled in their blocks and awaited further instruction.   
"Set" came Tuvok's voice over a microphone. The eight men rose in their blocks and as soon as the gun sounded, they got away first time.   
"Come on Tom" B'Elanna shouted at the top of her voice. Harry had got off to an excellent start and was already making up the stagger on Tom. He was a proficient runner, with strong arm movement and a high knee lift. It was evident that he had done some training whilst he was in the Academy, whether or not he had let Tom know this, was a different matter.   
'That's right, Harry' Kathryn thought 'Hustle the hustler.'   
There was no competition. Tom was fast and certainly had a lot of brute force behind him, but he wasn't as experienced as Harry. The bends seemed to cause him trouble and as Harry leaned into the bend, Tom attempted to run straight up. The rest of the field though was left clean behind and attention was focused on the two at the front. Harry pulled further and further away from Tom, despite the shouts and cries of B'Elanna, which Kathryn could only react to by laughing.   
"Ensign Harry Kim wins the race in an excellent 45.1 seconds came the voice of the holographic announcer. "Up next is the men's 1500m and the qualifying rounds of the women's discus."   
  
  
B'Elanna looked at Kathryn questioningly, "Captain, what are you laughing at?"   
"Harry beat Tom at his own game. I was just thinking of the changes he's undergone courtesy of Mr Paris. Five years ago, he wouldn't have even dreamt of concealing the fact that he was the 400m track champion at the Academy."   
"And you've known this for how long, Captain?" B'Elanna asked.   
"Ever since he was posted on this ship."   
B'Elanna groaned. "Well its Tom's own stupid fault. If he wasn't so cocky he would never have gotten himself into this."   
"I'm afraid Mr Kim managed to outsmart him this time. Maybe he'll learn a lesson from it." She shook her head "Probably not."   
B'Elanna changed the subject, "So Captain, I hear you've entered the mixed hurdles event."   
"That's right." Kathryn replied "Are you up for a little competition?"   
"As always," B'Elanna replied calmly "Although it's not something I've really done before. I only entered because I wanted to give the men some decent competition."   
"Have you practised much?"   
"I think, I've grasped the technique enough to know what I'm getting myself into."   
Kathryn nodded as they both made their way to the warm up area. B'Elanna had still to throw in the finals of the javelin and she herself was due to participate in the long jump. ************************************************************************************* 

** Continued in [part 2][1]**

  
  
Comments to [pwinarso@lineone.net][2]

   [1]: hurdles2.html
   [2]: mailto:"pwinarso@lineone.net



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